Tour of Soweto Township & Mandela's House

Friday night I had beers with Helen from England (white) and Edwin from South Africa(colored), an interacial couple who are breaking down the racial boundaries. They live across the street from me, are around my age, and made me feel free from the unsafe darkness of the night as we walked to town for a few drinks. Helen works for a nonprofit that develops township schools and Edwin is an admistrator at one of the University of Pretoria campuses. As I slipped away to the bathroom, I came back and they said, "We have signed you up for a tour tomorrow with some our friends." Cool! I had no idea where I was going but I knew I was in good hands.

The day started with a drive into Jo-burg and a visit to the Apartheid Museum (top 4 photos are from museum). This was only the beginning of an intense day of houses such a nasty education. The museum is quite beautiful (even though it history) and has been set up to invoke emotions by the physical display of solitary confinement rooms, political executions, decommissioned weapons and audio/visual exhibitions. It takes you through the history of the apartheid all the way up to Mandela's release from prison and his presidency. It is really unbelievable how recent all of these events were...we're talking 1950-present. I'm still reading Mandela's book and this museum added life to his words.

Then, the local guides (Melvin & Gino) drove into Soweto, a township outside of Jo-burg, where blacks were relocated to during the apartheid years. We arrived at Kliptown, a smaller community within So apartheid). Fromweto and home of the Freedom Chater (an alternative version of the American standards, it would be seen as a ghetto but this is a typical township community. Unfortunately, even though the apartheid is over...there are lasting effects, especially poverty of the black community. We met Bob, a soft-spoken local man with dreadlocks, who was adopted by Eva when he was a young boy orphan in Soweto. He now runs the local youth center that has been funded by the NBA basketball program and Feed the Children. Bob is quite a hero in this community, the kids have food and an outlet to hang out and read, dance, sing, and even sleep, as many of the kids are orphans. He toured us around the township and the little kids were so happy to see white people, they would grab your hand and hold on tight. I had one little girl who became very attached and wouldn't even let me release my hand for a quick photo (see photo with little girl). Families live in shacks made of corrugated metal and scraps of whatever kind of material they can find. They sleep on mats on the dirt floor. Even with the poverty these people are kind and caring, they all said "hello" as we walked by with big warm smiles. They know no different and so they make the best of their living conditions. Even though the living conditions are meek, it makes you realize how lucky they are to have a real community. I think the westernized life we live is so isolated from true human connections. The crime in this community is little to nothing...as the people really have nothing and they don't steal from their neighbors. However, Bob was saying that many people in this community are the criminals that you find in Jo-Burg because they have no other way to get money for food, shelter, etc. I guess it softens the blow if you do get robbed because the people that are robbing you really NEED the money. You can check out the Sky youth center here.

We ended the day by visiting Mandela's family house in Soweto. This is where he lived for 15 years before his imprisonment. It was a small house with many of his personal artifacts. Again, it brought to life his personal struggle.

I arrived home at 6 p.m., when darkness settles in. And I slept for 1.5 hours...a draining and educational day!

CULTURE SHOCK!

So much to share…a 10 hour flight from Zurich, Switzerland to Johannesburg, South Africa with an annoying mechanical box (unmovable) obstructing most of my foot space and the man in front of me took the liberty to recline his seat as far as he could within the first hour of the flight. Ugh! Needless to say, I was eager to get off that plane and step foot onto the African continent for the first time.

I sailed through Customs but not speedy as there was a long queue. The customs officer asked me a few questions…
"Do you have a visa?” No.
“What is your purpose of visit?” Volunteer work.
Then, she slapped on a South African visa good until October 23. As I wheeled out my big mama suitcase and backpack…I spotted my name on a white piece of paper among the large, diverse crowd of people. The friendly gentleman stuck out his warm hand and said, “Hello, I’m Peter, welcome to South Africa.” I was speechless. I’m in South Africa. It all hit; culture shock, very little sleep on a 10 hour flight, complete excitement to meet the man I have been corresponding with for over 3 months. Oh my god, I’m finally here.

Peter is the Director of the Department of Institutional Advancement at the Uni. of Pretoria and he is my host/boss. He lived in Colorado for 12 years and he is very fond of his time in Denver (that Colorado connection once again pays dividends). As we drove (on the opposite side of the road) to Pretoria, the rolling hills were dry with few trees but many low lying brown bushes. Peter showed me my new home; a post-graduate residence with a secured gate and fancy electrical shock wires complimenting the gates (see photos). He gave me a load of keys and we walked up 3 flights of stairs. To get into my room, there are 2 locked doors to enter the flat and then one locked door to enter my room. I feel safe. But just to make sure (when I’m not home) I will lock up my computer & camera in the locking closet inside my locked backpack.

So, this leads me to my next topic-CRIME! South Africa is not the safest place on earth, in fact, it’s rather perilous. I have been told numerous times not to go outside after 6 p.m. (sunset) and be “on alert” when walking alone during the day. I only live 3 blocks from campus and there is a secured gate to enter campus. Once you are on campus you feel safe, but I tell you what…I’m not sure my guard will be let down. When you are told numerous times, “Be careful, keep your wit about yourself, and be home by dark,” by people you have just met…it’s tough not to feel hyper-aware of your surroundings. It is a strange feeling. Norway, Finland & Portugal are in the top 10 of the safest countries in the world and I feel that I have lost some of my survival skills living there. But, no worries mom, my survival skills are back, in full effect.

After visiting my new home under lock and key and discovering that we have a housekeeper (who makes my bed everyday, empties the trash, sweeps, etc.), we proceeded to take a walking tour of campus (see photos). It is a beautiful campus; trees’ lining the paths, students hanging out on the grassy knolls, and an effervescent student life in July as it is the middle of one of their quarter semesters. The University of Pretoria is a fairly new campus, it will celebrate 100 years in 2008, but the history over the past century is enough to fill an entire library. It started as an Afrikaans conservative University and just over the last 20 years, the doors have opened to blacks, colored, and Indians. To say the University is in a state of transformation would be a gross understatement. More on this later…

We came to the administration building and he introduced me to his staff (that he cannot say enough good things about) and they were all very friendly and welcoming. Then, he showed me to MY office which I was thrilled about (who knew I would get my own office with a computer, printer, and phone??) I guess my expectations of this internship were fairly low…as I had no clue what I would be doing, for all I knew I might be pouring coffee (which would have been fine as I really just wanted to be immersed in the South African University culture.) However, my expectations have been exceeded already. It sounds like they plan to utilize my 10 years of event-planning experience. Today, I proofed a 50 page funding proposal and tomorrow I will work on an events checklist template to use on the various “friend-raising” events. I have a feeling my time here will not be in vain.

My internet access will be erratic, as the residence doesn’t have internet. Therefore, I will try to post once a week but cannot promise anything.

I Dream of Africa...

The day has finally arrived, tomorrow, when I board the Swiss International flight to Africa. I have dreamt about traveling to Africa ever since I saw the giraffes at the Denver Zoo. It feels quite surreal as I've been too busy unpacking and repacking the past few days, and getting my life organized to think about the fact that I'm actually going to Africa. I am currently reading "A Long Walk to Freedom," Nelson Mandela's auto-biography and it has educated me in a painful and heartfelt manner about the apartheid and the severe oppression of the black South African people. I hope that being there in person will help me better understand the history, the people, and the current situation. In the meantime, I have a bag of electric cords that weighs about 2 lbs./1km that will be making the journey with me.

Oslo, a bureaucratic nightmare!

So, I flew from Lisbon to Oslo on the 17th-20th for a quick renewal of my Norwegian visa (or what I thought would be a quick visa renewal.) It turned out renewing a visa is more complicated...it takes 3 months from the time you apply to the time you actually can get the visa. You see, living abroad is not always smooth sailing! There are many forms to fill out, many letter's to submit, many passport photos to smile for, many euro's to hand over, and many lines to wait in. Quite honestly, the visa processing can be a pain in the #$@! Oh well, Oslo wasn't a complete lost cause, I turned in my application, hung out with my Oslo buddies, drank expensive pints of beer, ate at my favorite bakery, and I got to see Oslo all lush, green and summery. Plus, it gave me a chance to visualize myself back in expensive Oslo writing my semester in the spring (which is a great possibility.) Honestly, it made me think...why not stay in Portugal??? Hmmm, I guess it all just really depends on my topic, which is yet to be decided.

McMuffin Maddness in Lisbon!

On my whirlwind summer tour of the South of Portugal, I made 2 stop-overs in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal and the largest city in Portugal. Lisbon is a great city; the public transportation makes it easy to get around, the old town hasn't been renovated into a shopping mall as it still holds the feeling of an authentic old town complete with traditional portuguese people living there, there are plenty of historical sites to visit, the food is cheap and quite palatable, you can find a nice bed for 16 euro, it easily connects to other cities in Portugal, and the number one reason I love Lisbon is the airport!! Let me break it down for you...the Lisbon airport is a quick 15-20 minute bus ride from the city center. Now, if you are on a budget transportation to/from the airport is a mere 1.30 euro by city bus. That by Norwegian standards, is a spankin' deal...as the transportation to the Oslo airport is at least 20 euro (and that is just one-way!) Once you arrive at the Lisbon airport there are actually drinking fountains...I have yet to find drinking fountains in any other euro airport, which makes filling up those empty water bottles (due to security) quite hard. And, the ques (lines) are orderly...which is sometimes not the case in Europe. I can't believe I'm going to admit to this next one but here goes...the McDonalds serves up EGG MCMUFFIN's!! Ok people, it has been a long time since I have eaten at McD's (like 5 years) and often times I curse the golden arches because it represents the capitalist, unhealthy, and greedy nature of the American lifestyle...however, I had to have an egg! Plus, everyone knows that the euro cafes won't be serving up an egg sandwich anytime soon. So, I took the plunge and got myself an egg mcmuffin, complete with that fake, plastic-like, orange, "American-cheese" that poses as cheddar cheese. The best part of my 8 a.m. McDonald's experience: 2 Aussie's in front of me ordered up 2 beers with their big-mac's. Only in Europe!!

Lagos, the Southern Tip of Portugal!

With a yoga mat strapped onto my backpack, not only did I receive some strange looks but I also missed my bus. I was trying to take a photo of myself and the yoga mat safely fastened to the backpack (visualize me holding out camera in front of me, snapping a shot, looking at in the viewfinder, repositioning myself and the backpack and sticking out the camera again) when all of a sudden the bus with "LAGOS" written in large letters on the front of the bus drove by. This is when a four letter word would be appropriate *&$#!!! There I was in Portimao, a small town in the south with a yoga mat, a camera, and no bus. Luckily, I was the first passenger on the next bus to Lagos. Lagos is a hip and happening touristy beach town. The white sand beaches and the island grotto's are a huge draw for the English crowd who have yet to see the sun in Britain. It was beautiful but perhaps the touristy facade of Lagos was a little overdone and I craved a more authentic Portuguese beach town. I later found out that I should have traveled to the west coast, as not as many tourists make it there, maybe next time.

Monchique...the mountain village!

A quaint little village in the South of Portugal gave me enough mountain zen to hold me over until at least South Africa. While in Monchique, I stayed at the Caldas de Termas nestled in a lush valley where the flowers are plentiful and the water is healing. Since I´ve been on a student budget this year, I decided to treat myself to 2 days of heaven; complete with aroma baths, mountain hikes, thermal massages, yoga and a jet shower that nearly knocked me over. This was the second stop on my short Portugal summer tour.

Wanderlust!

I have my travelin´shoes on and I´m off to the South of Portugal. I plan to visit a mountain village, Monchique, with thermal waters (good for healing) before I head to the white sound beaches of Lagos. I need to see Portugal before winter comes and before I head off to S. Africa on the 24th (it´s so surreal to say that..."I´m going to Africa.") Crazy. And in between Portugal and Africa I must renew my Norwegian visa, therefore I will be globetrotting to Oslo on the 17th-20th. Check back on the 21st for a travel update. Love & light...

Kicked off the BUS!

Traveling is always an adventure and this trip was not without a few tribulations. On our way back to Portugal we got kicked off the bus for failing to get our ticket validated. Hmmm, how were we supposed to know to get our tickets validated? So, there we were...left standing in the Vigo bus station as our bus to Porto (160 km away) rolled away. But, luckily the Laura/Leasa team are well-traveled and getting kicked off the bus not only makes for a good story but also an adventurous day. What was supposed to be a luxurious 3.5 hour bus ride (with movies & a/c) turned into an eight hour border crossing event that included a Polish student, gelato, a river crossing, a bus ride with "Video killed the Radio Star" song in the background, and a train ride along the Atlantic coastline. Needless to say, once we arrived in Porto we were in high spirits and had another amazing and CHEAP meal (14 euro for salmon, omelette, salad, and a house red.) Let me go on a quick tangent...the wine here is great and super cheap. Most restaurants have vino de casa (house wine)/2 euro/bottle. As much as I enjoy a nice red wine with dinner, this is like a dream come true. Therefore, when eating out I have at least a glass of house red (dad, aren't you proud?) Ok, back to the story. After dinner, there was a concert down by the river where we met a fellow traveler from New York and settled down at a riverside cafe to drink Port dessert wine and swap funny travel stories. PHOTOS: (top) Laura boarding the bus to Spain. (middle) During our border crossing, we got up close & personal to the Espana & Portugal signs. (lower middle) This is the Minho river that divides the Spanish & Portuguese borders. (lower) Enjoying Port in Porto after a long travel day. Ahhhh!

Santiago De Compostela Pilgrimage to Reality TV?

I've hit up yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Santiago de Compostela old town in the far northwest corner of Spain. This ancient town is special; with it's lush green gardens, magnificent Cathedral, narrow cobblestone walkways, and mountains surrounding the town, it is the ritualistic ending point for pilgrims who have walked as far as France (over 700 miles) to complete the Camino de Santiago (or way of St. James). On Friday morning, while enjoying fresh squeezed orange juice and a chocolate croissant on the steps of the Cathedral, we watched weary pilgrims with a scallop seashell (the symbol for this particular pilgrimage) and a gourd (for drinking from the wells) hanging from there backpacks, make their way to the Cathedral, the reputed burial site of St. James the Great (one of the disciples of Jesus). Over 100,000 people make this pilgrimage every year by foot, walking stick, donkey, or bike. It was quite inspirational, as all ages were represented and some had walked more than two months. However, out of nowhere the spiritual morning was demonized by REALITY TV! Big movie camera's, people carrying signs and cheering moved in on the scene; we weren't quite sure what all of the hype was about and thought maybe it was a real heart-wrenching pilgrimage to ask St. James to assist in recovering from an illness. Instead it was the tale of modern world meets sacred ways: REALITY TV! The Spanish edition of the reality TV show, "Big Brother," was on location, as three finalists were just finishing up the pilgrimage (see photo!) Other than touring around the beautiful and sunny town, we ate wonderful meals (salmon, paella, spanish omelette's) and stumbled on a live performance by the university male singing chorus under the spires of the Cathedral.

Pimped out University...Coimbra!

Yesterday, Ali and I traveled to the oldest hilltop university in Portugal, Universidade de Coimbra. Forget museums or churches, we travel to see university campuses and then finish up the day with a traditional dinner and a bottle of house red (more on that later)...we are such good students of higher education. Actually, there is something magical about visiting the bricks and mortar where scholars studied, as early as 1537, when the university first opened its doors. The oldest campus buildings surround a courtyard, Patio das Escolas, which opens up to an amazing view of the lush green, rolling hills and the lazy Rio Mondego. My favorite part...the old

classrooms! As you push down the wooden chair and carefully take a seat, you are suddenly propelled back in time, when only the elite and wealthy sat in these chairs of distinction. The history can be felt through the old porcelain tiles forming intrique patterns on the lengthy walls, and the big picture windows that look out over the city. Forget "Pimp my Ride", Leasa's grand tour of "Pimped out Universities" is in full effect and Trinity College & Universidade de Coimbra is toppin' the list, (and this is true old-school style) yo!

Ok, enough gangsta smack...the best story of this trip was the train ride home. But first, I gotta tell you about the mouth-smacking dinner...an amazing Portuguese typical meal consisting of BBQ salmon & bacalhau (cod), an entire bottle of house red topped off by no less than a glass of Port and chocolate mousse. Now that is a proper

Portuguese meal! We were the happiest people on the train, until I stood up to take a photo, and what would you know...2 blokes jump into the photo with a guitar, big smiles and another bottle of house red. Ok, can it get much better than this!? This video highlights a typical Portuguese meal as well as a lively train ride home.